Forgotten (6 page)

He whispered my name and slipped his
hands lower on my back; a warm rush flowed over me, soothing me
from the outside in. I fought the good feeling it
brought.

“
Stop fighting me,” he
commanded.

His demand suggested that he’d
man-handle me until I behaved like he wanted. However, his firm
hands trembled when I turned to meet his gaze. I planned on telling
him to back off. Instead of the white silhouette I expected to see,
his black shadow barely showed in the dark night. He looked like
everyone. I couldn’t make out very many features.

My mouth parted when his
grip tightened around my waist. Okay, so it might have been
a
major
attraction, but it still didn’t mean that I wanted anything to
do with him.

A lifetime of seconds passed as I
kneeled in front of him. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to walk away
because being close to him felt so good – too good.

I couldn’t see what his expression
was, read a thought across his eyes, but I felt exactly what he
wanted me too, as his warm hands caressed me. A passion burned
within him – one I’d lose my breath denying. I felt it too. If this
was some kind of joke, we’d both be at the butt of it. I fought an
internal battle. I wanted to push him, slap him across his face
right after I kissed him.

How could one man be so utterly
confusing? He was so unforgettable that apparently even my
subliminal thoughts wanted a piece of him. In reality, I’d never
give him a chance. His hand slid down to the top of my waist band,
interrupting my thoughts.

I wasn’t sure if my voice would obey
me, because our primal language our body language spoke was so
extreme I could hardly think straight.

“
If I were
dreaming
, you’d be
shirtless,” I said.

Without saying a word, he leaned
closer against me. His bare chest pressed against my back, warming
me with his body heat. It was in that moment, I let myself dream
freely instead of fighting it. My shirt was taut until he barely
lifted his hands. Sliding his hands under the thin fabric, he
rubbed his thumbs over my stomach, while he pressed his hips
against me. My skin tingled against his touch. I squirmed. He
gripped me tighter, keeping me still.

Grasping my hands in his, he moved
them over my stomach, like he didn’t trust himself to touch me the
way he wanted. With my hands acting as a barrier, he held my body
tight. He pressed his fingers into mine and guided them. My hands
drifted over my ribs while his fingertips barely caressed my skin.
The faint touch teased me. I moved my hands out from under his so
he could do what he wanted. His entire body flexed against me as he
tightened his grip around my waist. He took a deep breath of my
hair as he pulled me tighter against him with one hand while the
other slipped lower over my shorts. Catching my breath, I leaned
hard against him.

“
You make it difficult for
me to concentrate when you gasp like that,” Jace whispered like it
was his deepest secret.

He kissed my neck. It was so
flawlessly gentle I almost thought his lips didn’t actually brush
my skin. I wanted to feel his lips on mine – to taste his kiss. His
nose trailed up my neck, reaching the bottom of my ear. He rested
his forehead against my temple and breathed slow and
steady.

“
Escape from reality,
Gwyneth,” Jace whispered in my dream. His heat, power, and fervor
encased us. His lips hovered above mine, waiting for me to close
the gap. “Sometimes it can be too painful to live in, even for
immortals.”

Trouble would certainly find me if I
got involved with a guy like Jace – unhinged, rebellious…insanely
addictive. But dreams were to be an escape from reality; this
wasn’t real. What’s the worst that could happen?

“
I’ve been imagining your
kiss since we met,” Jace whispered.

Since this was a dream there was no
harm in admitting the embarrassing truth. “I’ve never kissed anyone
before.”

Every single muscle flexed and went
rigid like he was waging a war with himself. He pushed his hips
against mine while keeping me molded against him, trapping me. He
shivered when I spoke his name. Moving faster than humanly
possible, he swung my legs out from under me.

Laying me down on the crushed flowers,
he leaned over me only to pull away. It was as if he suddenly
changed his mind that he had enough self-control to caress me and
not lose it. Without his body over mine, his warmth left. The air
was cold.

I closed my eyes, hoping to see him
better in my mind’s eye. “What do you look like?” I asked, craving
to know if he was as perfect as I imagined his hazy outline to
be.

“
Skinny, blond, blue eyes,”
Jace rattled off quickly.

It was the opposite of Bree’s
description of him being the tall, dark, and handsome.
“Liar.”

Instead of denying it, he cautiously
reached for me and caressed my cheek. He kept his hand there as he
gradually slid his body next to mine. He slipped his hand across my
bare stomach where my shirt had come up. My body burned where his
thumb stroked. I caught my breath again as my skin awoke by his
touch. He didn’t press his hand hard against me. He was relaxed, or
so I thought until I reached for him. Every muscle my fingers ran
across was flexed. I explored his rock-hard chest. I gained
confidence the longer he held me. His physique wasn’t enormous, but
his muscles were still intimidating. His smooth skin burned hot
under my touch.

He slid over me without further
hesitation and then positioned himself just close enough to be
daunting. Confidence radiated from him. He knew exactly what he was
doing. Bree was right; he had a lot of practice in the art of
seduction.

“
My eyes are brown,” he
whispered. “They match my hair.”

This time I believed him. I moved my
hands up his chest, under his arms, and around his back, seeking
out every unblemished feature of his body. My hands found his
carved stomach that rippled like water. A small treasure trail led
to his pants line.

I swallowed and then did something I’d
never have the coolness to do in real life. I used his jeans as
leverage to pull him down on me.

“
You’ll be the end of me,
dearest,” Jace said.

He cupped my face, gently tilting my
chin upward. He whispered that the beauty of an entire ocean could
not compare to the exquisiteness of my eyes. He closed the gap when
a gasp slipped from my throat. A deep groan rose in his chest as
his tongue rolled over mine. My passion awoke as I devoured his
kiss in my dream.

C
HAPTER
T
HREE

I woke on the bedroom floor, tangled
up in my sheets. Even though I slept through the night, I felt
drained. It wasn’t until rubbed the sleep from my eyes that I
recalled the dream: Jace, the heat, the kiss. I pressed my lips
together and wrapped the covers tightly around me.

“
It was just a dream,” I
assured myself. I hadn’t actually made myself available to Jace. I
hadn’t wasted my first kiss on him…even if it did taste so sinfully
delectable.

Footsteps on the first-floor brought
me back into the present. I drug myself off the floor and was
careful not to make too much noise. No matter how tired, I wasn’t
going to hang out with Martha all day. I hardly survived yesterday
afternoon. My world had become entirely too warped when I chose
McKesson High over solitary confinement in a house in dire need of
a deep clean.

John ran interference with Martha
while I slipped out the front door. I dialed Bree. She picked me up
one block from my place. I’d just swung the pickup’s door open when
I got a text from Martha telling me to call at the first sign of an
upset stomach.

“
JJ’s?” Bree suggested as
soon as she took a good look at me.

“
Definitely.” My stomach
was growling like a rabid animal.

“
Rough night?”

I nodded and looked out the
window just in time to hide my grin with my hand. My lips were
swollen. I tried not to think about what I’d done to my pillows. I
opted not to tell Bree about my dream because she was the type of
person to look too deeply into it. Yes, I indulged in a happy
fantasy with Jace in my sleep. No harm done. However, it didn’t
mean I even remotely wanted him in real life; Bree didn’t need to
overanalyze it. I didn’t need to over think it either…so why was he
still invading my thoughts? Jace’s demeanor, conceitedness, and
attitude
screamed
“player.” He’d walk all over my heart if I let him.

“
You know I’m not going to
let you wander around like that,” Bree said as she pulled away from
the curb.

“
You know the rules. No
make-up at school.”

She scoffed like I didn’t
have a choice. “
Minimal
concealer today, Winnie. You’ve got a wicked case
of eye-bags.”

“
No eye-liner.”

“
No liner, but then you
have to let me tackle your hair.”

I nodded, secretly grateful that there
was someone in my life who’d tell me if I looked like a slob even
if I wasn’t big into the whole appearance bit. After finishing, she
drove the rest of the way to JJ’s.

The small coffee bistro smelled like
its walls were coated with coffee beans and flavored syrup. The
business changed names several times over the years, but had kept
the atmosphere similar. Not wanting to compete with any of the
chain stores, JJ’s kept its vibe more relaxed. It was superb when I
had an afternoon to kill, but not so much on the morning before
class. The waitress finished a texting-convo before she wrote down
our order that included a much needed double shot of
espresso.

We’d just ordered our drinks when I
heard a shuffle across the tile behind us. Without having to look,
I knew who it was. Aside from my dog, Hector was my oldest friend.
Like Max, he was a part of my makeshift family. He hobbled due to
an old boxing injury that had shattered his right kneecap. Knocking
me on my butt in the ring more times than I could count, Hector
literally helped me overcome some hard knocks in my
life.

He grabbed my shoulders firmly and
briefly held me tight, instigating a playful fight. If I wasn’t so
hungry, I’d have socked him in the gut when he first gripped my
shoulders.

Even though he had six inches on me, I
proved my own in the ring. He couldn’t match my agility, even if he
could obliterate me with a few solid hits.

“
I’m surprised to see you
here,” Hector said.

Since I could smell coffee on his
breath, I knew this was merely a gesture of good will for Martha.
She must have sent him to check up on me. That she knew exactly
where I went after leaving the house, meant I was all too
predictable and made a mental note to address that
issue.

“
You need to brush up on
your spy skills, Mr. Coffee Breath,” I said.

He raised his hands in the air. “You
caught me.”

“
Are you going to hit some
bags with me later today?” I asked, not wanting to talk about my
over-protective foster mother.

“
Only if Bree joins you,”
Hector said.

“
And show you up in the
ring? I don’t think you want the humiliation,” Bree teased, and
grabbed the drinks that our waitress finally got around to making.
“Better get going, Winnie. At this rate, we’ll get there just in
time to miss first period. As enticing as detention sounds, I’d
rather spend my afternoon with Ryker. He’s taking me on a secret
date – mission impossible style. Parents aren’t cleared to know the
classified details.”

“
Let me guess, he’s taking
you to a movie?” I said.

“
Hush! You’ll blow our
cover!” she giggled.

“
See you tonight then?” I
asked, reconfirming my workout date with Hector.

“
Like I’d stand up a
gorgeous gal like you!” Hector said, bidding us goodbye.

Once outside, Bree nudged my shoulder.
“If he weren’t like, old enough to be –”

“–
he’s only twenty-two.
It’s not like that’s ancient,” I interrupted and took my drink.
Pulling the top off, I let it cool before I climbed into the
pickup. “And no, I’m not interested. It’d be like kissing my
brother.”

“
He’s good looking, in
great shape, considering his limp, and his light brown hair
shimmers perfectly in the right lighting,” Bree continued, like my
rapport meant little to nothing.

“
Maybe you and Ryker should
give it a rest. You seem to be rather hung up on brown-haired guys
lately,” I said, thinking about the color of Jace’s
hair.

“
Not loving Hector’s sickly
green eyes,” Bree said, ignoring my comment. For a moment I thought
she might actually consider pursuing a date with Hector. “But then
again, I’d hold out too, if the hottest new guy in school was
chasing my tail. Ryker mentioned, in passing of course, that things
got a bit hot in art class with you and Jace.”

“
What happened in class,
was that I got sick and was surrounded with bad company. And for
that matter, I’m
not
holding out,” I stated, pronouncing every word
clearly.